Crime
Attacks on INEC offices: Hold politicians, others responsible – IGP
Similarly, the INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, warned that the continued attacks on assets belonging to the electoral umpire could frustrate the 2023 general elections.
Baba noted that the Nigeria Police Force, being the lead agency in internal security and elections generally, was always at the receiving end, stating, “Whatever happens, it is the duty of the police to protect here and there.
“The campaigns commenced and what we realised initially was inter and intra-party disputes. We realised that members of political parties were destroying billboards, posters and campaign offices in some parts of the states. We quickly alerted the commissioners of police in charge of the commands and gave them a clear directive that it is the right of every political party to go to all the nooks and crannies of society and campaign. It is a constitutional right, so on no account does a state governor or any state actor should prevent political parties from moving about to do their campaigns.
“We now come to the immediate attacks on INEC facilities. Of recent, the ones that took place in Osun and Ogun, then last week in Ebonyi, Imo and Enugu; it is a well known fact that in the South-East geopolitical zone, we have issues of secessionists – the IPOB and ESN. These groups are bent on stopping elections from taking place in the South-East. They have been attacking our personnel; they have been retrieving arms from members of the security agencies, not only the police but the military and other paramilitary organisations that are there. They have been doing it, especially now that the embargo on campaigns has been lifted.
“The election is approaching very fast and they are putting much pressure to see that this election does not hold in the South-East geopolitical zone.
“In the South-West, we equally have the pro-Yoruba secessionists that are equally bent on seceding and not allowing election to take place in their areas, hence the attack on INEC in Osun and Ogun of recent. Those ones are also sponsored by politicians and other stakeholders.”
According to the police boss, there is also the issue of failed and desperate politicians who are bent on stopping INEC from conducting the elections.
“The failed politicians are those who could not come back through any political party, and as far as they are concerned, let everything spoil, let everything scatter. They are using that opportunity to sponsor illiterate followers of the parties and hoodlums to make sure that this general election does not hold and should not be successful,” Baba added.
The IG recalled that on November 17, 2022, he held a meeting with political party leaders and INEC, where it was agreed that all political parties were free to go about their campaigns in all the states, but they should talk and work on their followers to desist from hooliganism.
The INEC chairman, on his part, said the commission was suffering attacks on its offices and assets across the country, especially in the South-East, as well as destruction by flood during the rainy season.
Yakubu said, “The attacks have far-reaching implications on preparations for the general election. First, the facilities that are destroyed, especially offices, will take time to rebuild. They are not like items of procurement that you can procure off the shelf. So, an alternative arrangement has to be made. So, in some of the states, in addition to these malicious attacks, other matters that have arisen as a result of fire and flooding, we will have to make alternative arrangements by renting in some places we can find facilities to rent. In some of the remote areas, we may not find facilities to rent; so, we have to look for alternatives to the damaged facilities.
“Secondly, several materials lost will have to be replaced. In the recent attacks, some of the PVCs, for instance, were lost. But for the PVCs, we have instructed our state offices to send the Voter Identification Numbers of the PVCs lost so that we can reprint. We can from our database quickly regenerate and reprint the cards so that citizens are not disenfranchised.
“The commission and security agencies must also continue to provide safety around the facilities and this, as I said earlier, may be very challenging because the security agencies are also protecting all of us and other national assets. So, these attacks on our facilities are actually other challenges that our security agencies can do without. Now, we have to rebuild the facilities and our funds are overstretched by a number of factors. We cannot continue to replace and rebuild.”
According to Yakubu, what is even more worrisome for INEC is the attack in the Izzi Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, which first took place on May 18, 2012.
“We found the resources in our election project plan budget to rebuild the office and we did so. We rebuilt the office and our staff members moved in on Friday. That weekend, on Sunday, the office was burnt down again and there are five such offices nationwide where in spite of our best efforts, the facilities were attacked not once, but twice,” he added.
The INEC chairman noted that the commission had five offices which were attacked after they were rebuilt.
Chief Sir Joseph Ebere Ezeokafor, chairman of Jezco Group of Companies, popularly known as Jezco, has regained his freedom after spending several days in the custody of his abductors.
Ezeokafor, the father of popular social media personality Jowi Zaza, was abducted in the early hours of Tuesday while on his way to a prayer ground in Awka, Anambra State.
The businessman was reportedly released near the boundary between Anambra and Enugu States, close to Ebenebe, near Awka. A family member was said to have picked him up late at night after his release.
His freedom followed ransom negotiations between the kidnappers and his family. The abductors had initially demanded N700 million before reportedly increasing the ransom to N1.5 billion.
However, following negotiations, the family eventually agreed to pay an undisclosed amount to secure his release.
Details of the final amount agreed upon, including whether the full sum was paid before or after his release, were not immediately available.
His release has brought relief to his family, friends, business associates and well-wishers, following widespread concern over his abduction across Anambra State and beyond.
Ezeokafor is the founder of Jezco Oil and Lubricants, a company he established in 1980 and subsequently expanded into other areas of manufacturing and business.
The circumstances surrounding the abduction and release, as well as the identities of the abductors, remain unclear.
Relatives of some of the 52 kidnapped residents of Borno State have resorted to selling their houses in anticipation of ransom demands by the kidnappers.The victims were kidnapped by gunmen from different parts of the state on April 15.The spokesperson for the families of the victims, Hassan Yati, said that one of the relatives whose two sons were kidnapped had been defrauded of N1.5m out of the N3m demanded by individuals posing as the abductors.He said the family later discovered that the actual terrorists had neither demanded the money nor authorised anyone to collect ransom on their behalf.Yati added that the incident had compounded the financial burden on families already struggling to cater to their children.He also revealed that a woman whose only daughter was kidnapped had sold her family house in the Biu Local Government Area of the state.“Initially, we thought it was money the kidnappers wanted. One of the parents with only daughter kidnapped told me she sold her family house in Biu in anticipation, only to hear otherwise.“Even me, I put our family house up for sale, but no one is talking to us again,” he stated.Yati said he decided to sell his family house because his younger brother and his wife were among those abducted on April 15.
He explained that he had been under pressure from other relatives of the victims, who accused him of withholding information about efforts to secure the release of their loved ones.“The rest of the parents bombard me with calls and messages. They now accuse me of hiding information,” he said.Yati said efforts to get the attention of the government had so far yielded no result, leaving the families to endure what he described as prolonged silence from the authorities.A parent who sold her house, Monday Bako, expressed frustration, saying her daughter was kidnapped on January 13.Bako, a food vendor, said, “They kidnapped my daughter since 13th of January till today. I have no idea of where they are and who held her captive. We have not heard anything about her and others abducted in our community.“I later sold my house to raise money in case we hear any information. We thought they would demand ransom but unfortunately, nothing has been demanded.”Another relative, whose wife and three-month-old baby are in the terrorists’ den, appealed to the government to expedite action towards their release.“We are tired of waiting. We are dying in silence. Our appeal to the government is for them to come to our aid,” the source said.
Headline
The Police Command in Enugu State has arrested 14 kidnap suspects through intelligence-led operations, which busted major kidnapping syndicates operating in the state.
Police recovered some items, which included: five AK-47 rifles, two pump-action guns; one locally-fabricated firearm, 310 rounds of live 7.62 x 39mm ammunition; eight live cartridges and seven AK-47 empty magazines.
The state Commissioner of Police, Mr Mamman Giwa, disclosed this during a press briefing on Friday in Enugu on the recent successes recorded by the command in the state against coordinated syndicates of kidnap gangs.
The commissioner said that recently, in separate joint operations, security operatives rescued kidnapped victims at Ogbozara Community in Nsukka LGA and Owukpa Community in Ogbadibo LGA of Benue State, with several exhibits, including live ammunition, recovered.
According to him, most recently, one of the victims abducted from a Church at Inoyi, Affa Community in Udi LGA, was rescued on Aug. 2.
“A joint, intelligence-led operations subsequently led to the rescue of the remaining two victims, the arrest of three suspects, the neutralisation of one suspect, and the recovery of ransom money, firearms, ammunition and other incriminating exhibits.
“Further intelligence-led operations by the Command’s Anti-Kidnapping Violent Crime Response Unit (AK-VCRU) led to the arrest of two additional male suspects linked to the Affa Church kidnapping.
“The duo, who fled to Port Harcourt following the operational pressure mounted by joint security operatives, were traced and arrested in Port Harcourt and brought back to Enugu.
“Preliminary investigation reveals that after fleeing Enugu, the suspects regrouped with their cohorts in Port Harcourt and abducted another victim, who was released after a ransom of ₦5 million was paid,” he said.
The commissioner said that in a sustained offensive against kidnapping and other violent crimes, 12 additional suspects were earlier arrested through human and technical intelligence-led operations conducted in different parts of the country.
He said that the suspects were arrested on various dates in June, July and August 2026 in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, and Enugu, Kogi, Nasarawa, Rivers, Kwara and Taraba States.
Giwa said investigation indicated the suspects are members of an organised criminal network operating from different parts of the country, adding they converge in Enugu State to plan and execute kidnapping operations before returning to their respective locations.
He said that the network was aided by an Enugu-based member, who operates a tricycle and provides transportation for the gang members, their firearms and other criminal implements to and from operational locations.
The state police boss said that another Enugu-based member provides intelligence that enables the gang to evade security surveillance and identify suitable targets and locations.
“The suspects have, during interrogation, confessed to involvement in several recent and past kidnapping incidents across Enugu State, including along Enugu–Ugwuogo–Opi–Nsukka Road; Obioma–9th Mile–Umulumgbe–Okpatu Road; Eke–Affa–Egede–Ezinze axis; and various locations in Ezeagu LGA.
“Specifically, preliminary investigation has linked the suspects to the following armed kidnapping incidents: The abduction of a male victim at Mgbabuowa/Aguobuowa, Ezeagu LGA, on May 25 during which ₦5.5 million was obtained as ransom.
“The abduction of two male victims and the shooting and murder of a female victim at Obioma, Udi LGA, on May 9 during which the gang obtained twenty-eight thousand US Dollars ($28,700) as ransom.
“The abduction of two male victims along the Eke–Ezinze Road, Udi LGA, on April 10 for which Seventy Thousand US Dollars ($70,000) was obtained as ransom.
“The kidnapping of seven victims at Obinaofia, Ezeagu LGA, on April 12 during which ₦25 million was obtained as ransom as well as other kidnapping incidents and ransom payments which the suspects disclosed during interrogation,” he said.
He said that the suspects laundered and concealed proceeds of their criminal activities through investments in livestock and different properties, lavish spending and other conspicuous consumption, as well as leisure and overseas trips.
The commissioner noted that further investigations would establish the suspects’ involvement in other kidnapping and violent-crime incidents within and outside the state, identify and arrest other members of the syndicate, and recover additional firearms, ammunition.
“The command will also recover other criminal proceeds and finally after the extensive investigations they will be charged to court in accordance with extant laws,” he added.
The incident reportedly occurred on August 12, 2026, at Gwamma Village in Bauchi Local Government Area, where the suspect was said to have allegedly laced her husband’s meal with a poisonous substance.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, SP Nafiu Habib, said the police received a distress call at about 7:40pm from an anonymous woman in the Wunti Dada area of Bauchi.
He said operatives attached to the ‘C’ Division, Tafawa Balewa Estate, immediately responded to the report and rushed the victim to the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital for medical attention.
According to Habib, the victim was still receiving treatment and was in stable condition as of the time of the report.
He added that detectives recovered an empty bottle suspected to have contained the poisonous substance, alongside remnants of the food allegedly contaminated by the suspect.
The items, he said, had been preserved as exhibits to aid the ongoing investigation.
Following the development, the state Commissioner of Police, Sani-Omolori Aliyu, ordered that the case be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department for further investigation.Law Enforcement
Habib said the suspect would be prosecuted after the completion of the investigation, while the command urged residents to remain vigilant and promptly report suspicious activities to the police.
The command’s spokesperson, Peter Aondongu, disclosed t] is while giving an update on the incident in a telephone interview on Thursday, as he noted that the baby had been recovered.
“I can confirm to you that some suspects have been arrested in connection with the theft of a newborn baby in Gboko on Tuesday.
“Some of the suspects were earlier transferred to the state headquarters in Makurdi while other suspects are in police custody at Gboko division right now,” the PPRO said.
The baby, according to sources, was allegedly stolen from his mother in the hospital a few hours after he was delivered on Tuesday.
The incident reportedly attracted family members, sympathisers and other concerned persons to the hospital, creating tension within and around the facility. It was also gathered that security operatives were subsequently deployed to the healthcare centre to prevent the breakdown of law and order.
An eyewitness who craved anonymity told journalists on Wednesday that the alleged thief had been following the baby’s mother disguised as a nurse working in the hospital. According to the eyewitness, the baby was said not to be responding at the time he was born, which prompted the nurse to move the mother and the baby to a ward for further care.
The eyewitness alleged that shortly after they were moved to the ward, a woman, who camouflaged as a nurse, approached the mother and asked to examine the baby again.
It was later that they discovered that the newborn baby was missing.
“Immediately after the baby was born, the infant did not cry as expected. The nurse on duty reportedly intervened, and the newborn eventually responded normally.
“Thereafter, both the mother and the baby were taken to a ward. Not long after, an alleged child trafficker approached the mother of the newborn under the pretence of being one of the nurses.
“The suspect claimed they wanted to check the baby once again. The trafficker then took the baby from the mother and headed toward the labour room.
“Sensing something amiss, the mother-in-law who had been with her daughter-in-law followed and stood at the labour room’s entrance, but she was instructed to step back, with assurances that everything would be fine; so she complied. Shortly afterwards, the strange woman disappeared with the newborn baby,” the witness stated.
It was gathered that while searching for the baby, the nurses on duty reportedly denied taking the baby from the ward and also said the woman who allegedly presented herself as a nurse was not a member of their team.
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